The Texas Transportation Commission has approved $225 million for work to repair roads damaged as a consequence of the state’s oil and gas boom. The funding, provided by the Texas Legislature (see Shale Daily, May 30), will allow the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)to begin repairing and rehabilitating roadways damaged by heavy trucks and increased traffic. It is estimated that energy sector traffic across the state has caused $400 million in immediate roadway safety concerns, such as severe edge damage on narrow roadways, deep rutting and pavement damage. Estimates show an additional $1 billion per year is needed to restore roadways heavily impacted by energy development to “good” or “better” conditions, the commission said. “Fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes in Texas rose by 11% in 2012 compared to the previous year,” said TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson. “We are pleased that our lawmakers saw fit to fund some of these safety-focused rehabilitation and repair projects, and we hope resources that enhance safety will continue to be a priority as our energy industry thrives.” With more than 80,000 miles of highway, Texas, home of the Eagle Ford and Barnett shales as well as the Permian Basin, has the largest highway system in the nation.
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Drilling Cutbacks Pose Water Recycling Dilemma
The decline in U.S. unconventional natural gas drilling this year may create an unintended consequence: reducing the amount of flowback water that operators reuse at well sites.
Drilling Reductions May Create Recycling Problem
The decrease in drilling expected in the Marcellus Shale this year could have an unexpected consequence: reducing the amount of flowback water that operators reuse at well sites.
California Fracking, Pipe Bills Await August Hearings
While no hearings have been set as of yet for deciding the fate of several natural gas safety bills alive in the California legislature, all indicators point to the picture becoming clearer following mid-August committee hearings, when state lawmakers return from a month-long recess that begins Friday.
Groups Say Position Limits Should Focus on Spot-Month Physical Contracts
Unless revised, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposed rulemaking on position limits for derivatives would have the unintended consequence of needlessly limiting commodity trading and harming liquidity and price discovery in the derivatives markets, the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) said in comments filed at the CFTC Monday.
Study: Gas Is the Fix for Wind’s Coal Problem
A growing reliance on wind power in the Colorado energy market has had the unintended consequence of causing baseload coal-fired generators there to cycle up and down to accommodate the wind resource’s intermittent nature. This has led to an increase in emissions, a recent study has found.
Study Questions Wind Power’s Virtues
A growing reliance on wind power in the Colorado energy market has had the unintended consequence of causing baseload coal-fired generators there to cycle up and down to accommodate the wind resource’s intermittent nature. This has led to an increase in emissions, a recent study has found.
Study Questions Wind Power’s Virtues
A growing reliance on wind power in the Colorado energy market has had the unintended consequence of causing baseload coal-fired generators there to cycle up and down to accommodate the wind resource’s intermittent nature. This has led to an increase in emissions, a recent study has found.
Economists: Gas Win Not a Given From GHG Reduction
Growth in natural gas demand may not be a given consequence of efforts to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to a trio of factors, a recent study has found.
Economists: GHG Reduction Efforts May Not Spotlight Gas
Growth in natural gas demand may not be a given consequence of efforts to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to a trio of factors, a recent study has found.